Well, I’m excited. As you know this is absolutely my most favorite part of my favorite time of the year. The weather is great. Most of our family is traveling in for the holiday. Hunting season comes to its best time…and besides all of that there is the turkey and pie! I’m pumped!

To be a bit more serious, I really am encouraged with the opportunity to make real progress as your pastor, as a pastoral team, and as a church. God has and is bringing together specific people and ideas that have great insight and energy. Together they give me great hope that we will in fact “work smarter, not just harder.” For those of you unable to be here last Sunday, I used the preaching time of the morning service to do some “vision casting” for the next year. If you weren’t here I would encourage you to download it from the media center on the church website. I would be quite interested to hear your comments, questions, and concerns.

This coming Lord’s Day is our first mission’s emphasis Sunday this year, with the focus on church planting in Europe. These special Sundays allow us to emphasize missions throughout the year and give us specific focal points for our Grace Giving. Pastor Troy and the missions team has set a goal of $30,000 for this week, representing our present annual investment in church planting in Europe. I do encourage you to pray, give, and allow the preaching to stir your hearts. Remember the morning service will be followed by a picnic/bring your lunch break, then the afternoon service at about 1pm. It should be a great day.

See you there, Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim

What a crazy week! A significant snow storm in October…and of course on the weekend…thrilling the snow lovers, disappointing children wanting to get out of school, and messing with Sunday services! Oh well, it is what it is. We still had a great day Sunday, by His grace and to His glory. This coming Sunday morning we will be both observing the Lord’s Supper and having a baptismal service all in one. So there will be great music, the Lord’s Supper, a shorter message, and baptisms/membership testimonies, all in one service. I have to tell you, I’m really looking forward to the fellowship around and celebration of our Savior’s death and resurrection. How refreshing it is to focus on the good news of the gospel, while being daily bombarded with the bad news of politics as usual here, chaos abroad, and gloomy financial predictions.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸ as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

See you Sunday, the Lord willing.

In Him,

P. Tim